Life as a Pokémon
by Gray Fox 2510
Summary: Ever thought life was tedious? Wonder how would it be for Pokémons? A tale of the lives of five Pokémons as they go through school, romance, and just about everything else you find at teenagehood. (Note that the characters here are Anthros)
1. The Beginning

Pokemon is copyright of Game Freaks and Nintendo, all characters mentioned here are not used with their consent, hence a fanfic.

This story involves the use of Anthro-style Pokemons, or Morphs if you prefer, basically, they are Pokemon turned into humans as par se, they have the characteristics of a person but remain as Pokemons (I can't really find how to explain it). Needless to say, only Pokemons exist in this world, no humans whatsoever...

All characters I make during the process are partly my property, the Pokemon model isn't, but the Anhtros are... shrugs Oh, and since so lazy to switch between languages since this keyboard is American, I won't put the accent to the 'e' in Pokemon...

_Life as a Pokemon - Chapter 1 - The Beginning. _

* * *

The city of Lerus was quiet. The sky was covered in gray clouds which poured rain into the stone floor. The buildings stood tall illuminating the darkened streets as a few Pokemons passed by. In the distance a giant mass of fire known as the Sun was raising, shaking the drowsiness of the Pokemons, and starting yet another long day... 

Not far from the main streets was an apartment building, on the top floor and furthest room was an Arcanine snoring peacefully, that it until the alarm shot off and so did he jumping out of bed and right into the floor, giving a rather rough start. He stood up. He was around 1.85 meters long. His whole body was made of red fur, with black stripes running along. His hair was white and spiked somewhat to the back reaching around the shoulders, and a rather fluffy tail etched from his back, swinging as drowsily as the body. The underside of his mouth was also white-furred, as well as a small mat of fur etching from the back of his forepaws and just above the ankles. He was currently wearing a pajama of sort with drawings of Arcanines and Growlithes painted on it, he shook his head and took a couple of steps towards a wall where a calendar hung from.

"15th of August... That time of the year again... God..." he sighed and shook his head sideways and entered the bathroom, the sound of the shower shot up as the birds chirped...... A couple of minutes later the water stopped flowing and he left, then proceeded to spend 20 minutes drying his fur (hehe...). When he finished, he left in the same pajama, opened a rather small closet and took out the school uniform they had to wear...

"Already high school and still with uniforms..." he said in a groggy voice as he took a pair of long blue jeans, and a blue, long-sleeved jacket. He entered the bathroom again and left a minute later in the uniform, trying to get used to it as he moved his hands uncomfortably, he placed his feet on the shoes that made up the uniform and yawned... He walked to the door and opened it, reaching into the living room of the small apartment, he lived alone currently, the building was just built not long ago and it still was half empty. The room consisted of a kitchen directly across from him on the far wall. In the middle of the room rested two couches with a table in the middle and a piece of furniture on the wall left of his room, and on the other edge was another room. On the far left stood a giant window, at the very least two and a half meters long and about two meters wide. He walked to the kitchenette and took a small bowl, a box of cereal and walked towards the table there, sitting down and trying to enjoy his breakfast as much as he could before he got up, placed it in the sink, lifted a small briefcase-looking backpack to his shoulder, grabbed a set of keys and left, still dragging his feet along the floor.

The sun was still coming up, as parts of the streets were still clouded in darkness as rain poured down, he shifted the umbrella he was carrying from his right hand to the left to let the former rest for a moment. He was about to walk around a corner when someone ran into him, and in the same blow from the impact he left the umbrella go, but shifted in the air and landed on his hands and flipped over to the feet, barely missing a giant puddle for just centimeters- his backpack somehow landed in a dry spot- the other part wasn't so lucky however. A Ninetales, female due to the fact she was wearing a skirt had collided with him, and sent back, and amazingly enough she didn't landed on water, but on dry floor, and even in less than a sec her hands where already at the end of the skirt to keep it from flying, nine tails and a short skirt aren't such a good combination... The Arcanine grabbed his umbrella with the left and took a step closer to the Ninetales and offered his right hand.

"Sorry, didn't saw you..." he apologized, and the Ninetales took his hand with her right and lifted herself up. She was a little shorter than the Arcanine, reaching around 1.70 meters. Her fur was completely white, her hair was tied up and going up at first, then falling down freely, dripping some water. Currently wearing the traditional Japanese (in our culture at least...) uniform, a white, long-sleeved shirt, with a small piece of cloth hung around the neck and falling back down the back in blue color with a white stripe running along the edge. A skirt rather little, reaching around 15 centimeters above the knee, from the back and going downwards at first etched 9 tails, true to her name, which swayed softly.

"I should have looked too," she added shaking her head sideways, and it was in that moment she noticed it was him, but not her the one soaking up, she looked up and noticed the umbrella above her, she opened her mouth trying to say something but couldn't, she looked at him.

"Ark," he said quickly.

"What?" she asked back.

"My name, Ark."

"Oh... I thought you had barked," she said and giggled behind a paw/hand. "I'm Cleo," she added then.

"We are in the same school aren't we?" asked Ark.

"Down Mew Street?"

"Yep."

"Then yes we are" Cleo smiled. Ark took a glance of his watch and read 8.12.

"We should be going then unless we want to make a 'good' impression on the first day" said Ark and Cleo nodded, both walked down the street before reaching Mew Street, half of Ark soaked in water, the other dry, while Cleo only had a couple of drops dripping from her hair. They rushed the last street to reach on time, and surprisingly enough, they were in the same classroom... And yet, unfortunately enough, they haven't arrived on time, and both were standing outside the classroom soaking the floor of the aisle.

"It's going to be a long semester..." started Cleo.

"Definitely..." finished Ark as a couple of sparks could be seen coming from the hallway distracted him and Cleo. Also dripping water was a Jolteon taking small, long steps, perhaps to avoid sending a strong shock due to the water. He was around 1.76 meters tall, also wearing the same uniform as Ark. But unlike him, he had no actual fur, his yellow skin could be seen, and his hair made of yellow spikes stood up and a little to the back, giving a rather punk-ish look, even though he really wasn't one. Around his neck was a collar of white-colored spikes, all facing down and over his shirt. His green eyes also sparkled as he stepped slowly.

"Late too?" asked Ark.

"I suppose, since no one is outside anymore..." he answered back. Cleo cut in.

"I thought all Jolteons held their spikes up..."

"Nice thing to say to the Jolteon you just met..." Ark grinned, Cleo looked up at him with a stern look.

"This coming from the guy who knocked me down."

"Hey, it was an accident!" Ark retorted.

"But you don't have a skirt!" Cleo shot back.

"I didn't saw anything! I was too busy myself moving away from the mud puddle..." Ark ended, they looked at each other for a second or two and burst out laughing, leaving a rather confused Jolteon in front of them. Who politely coughed into his hand.. Paw... Whatever...

"I'm just gonna pretend I heard nothing... As to your question, you get used to it, we only have the spikes up while fighting, otherwise we have to be careful, especially if wet, I have to hold them down because of the electricity, otherwise the clothes... suffer," and he smiled bemusedly, but a spark also decided to greet and shocked Ark in a paw. "Sorry" he said as Ark rubbed his right paw where the bolt stung.

"Never mind. Anyway, I'm Ark" he said and extended the left paw since his right was hurt. The Jolteon took it.

"I'm Jaren" the Jolteon said.

"Cleo," chirped in the Ninetales. The door of the classroom opened with a loud hit as someone came out. She was a rather angry looking Azumarrill. She was wearing a long green skirt with a white blouse, a rather stern look was in her face while her tail swayed in angriness. Her blue skin reflected the light from the hallways, she took a long breath and...

"I thought you were out here in detention, not to enjoy the time pass by!" she shouted.

"Sorry," mouthed the 3 as the rest of the classroom laughed silently, the Azumarrill sighed and let them in, they say near each other and the Azumarrill resumed the introduction of the class, herself, and all the stuff they say in a new year/semester.

And the day went slowly as possible, the ringing of the bell only served to make the aisles full with people doing their best to reach the next class on time, and this would be going on for quite a while. Finally, 6 hours later everyone was rushing along the hallways, some just flying past the giant mob.

Finally, Ark, Cleo and Jaren managed to exit, but instead of just walking away they stayed besides the stairs were Pokemons were still rushing through.

"Ack!" shrieked someone behind them, Ark and Cleo who were looking at the stairs noticed that a female Suicune tripped over and basically jumped away, Jaren didn't turned around, and was suddenly plummeted against the floor, and using every possible ounce of self-control he maintained the spikes down.

"Please...get...off..." he mouthed so as not to "spike up", and the Suicune rapidly moved over.

She stood up and so did Jaren, she quickly bent over repeating a "Sorry, sorry, sorry...." a couple times.

"It's alright," said Jaren finally getting things under control.

"I'm Siria, sorry again," she muttered out quickly, obviously still a little shocked.

"Ark, Jaren and I'm Cleo," obviously said Cleo pointing while calling each of them.

They started talking as if they have known each other for a long time already and started walking away, Mew street was still a little hectic due to classes ending, but they left it and entered Virian Street, where a lot of restaurants and such locals where at, they entered a small coffee shop, Bellossom's Coffee Shop, which surprisingly enough was full and they had to wait for a couple of minutes. After a small dinner they left the local and each parted to their home, Jeran and Siria lived in totally opposite directions and they went alone, Cleo and Ark lived a little closer to each other, Cleo also lived in an apartment, just 2 streets away from where Ark, so they went together for the moment and then parted when they reached the same place they have met just in the morning...

Another semester was about to begin, perhaps not the best start in classes, but sure was with friends...

* * *

Ok, pretty short chapter, I just wanted to introduce some of the characters, and I'm still missing some... 

Not really much to say down here, but hope this story will go well...

Signed as usual,   
Alan "Gray Fox" Quirino - grayfox2150 (at) hotmail (dot) com  
Until next time!


	2. Expanding the Cast

Pokemon is copyright of Game Freaks and Nintendo, all characters mentioned here are not used with their consent, hence a fanfic.

This story involves the use of Anthro-style Pokemons, or Morphs if you prefer, basically, they are Pokemon turned into humans as par se, they have the characteristics of a person but remain as Pokemons (I can't really find how to explain it). Needless to say, only Pokemons exist in this world, no humans whatsoever...

All characters I make during the process are partly my property, the Pokemon model isn't, but the Anthros are... Or something like that... shrugs

_Life as a Pokemon - Chapter 2 - Expanding the Cast! And some other stuff..._

* * *

Lerus City was entering the night of that particular day. Not so far from the main, bustling city were various apartment complexes. On one in particular resided a young Arcanine. He was 'enjoying' the evening in the 'lounge' of his apartment sitting on a couch and watching TV, he was currently wearing a pair of white baggy jeans and an orange long-sleeved shirt, nothing too fancy. He flipped through the channels for the... Another time as he let out a long sigh, turned the TV off and threw the remote to the other side of the couch. He got up, stretched a little, put on his white/black shoes and left his apartment, he locked the door behind him and started to make his way down. 

Rain had resumed not long after he had gotten home leaving his new friends. And then the rain left again leaving the whole city as one muddy mess... The streetlights started coming on as Ark walked through aimlessly. After walking through a few streets he reached Aria Street, not that he had thought of actually going there, but he had nothing else in mind. Aria Street was just one of the sides of the gigantic Rose Plaza, as the name implies, it was a large plaza, you could spot Pokemons of all ages and species in this place, and a lot of events were also held here. It was one of the liveliest places in the city. Not always for good though, the place had seen its bad moments as well.

Ark simple walked to a bench and watched around in the night, not really doing anything as various couples walked through.

----------

Cleo had also bored herself out, she wanted to let off some steam, not for anger, just to get all that off herself to be in a good mood at classes. She quickly changed clothes, now with a white button shirt of sorts (Ninetales size), and a pair of normal cyan blue jeans, with just enough space behind to let all 9 tails go out, "Boy it's a drag to put these things on..." she said to herself as she worked with all her 9 tails to finally be able to put them on. She jumped into a pair of light blue-shaded sneakers of sorts.

She left her apartment, walked a few steps and then took down two flights of stairs, ending in the parking lot. After a few blocks of walking, entering now Virian Street, one of the liveliest streets in the city of Lerus, she spotted Siria, the Suicune she had met not long ago, she sprinted not so fast to avoid the people and caught up with her.

"Siria!" she said behind her, Siria turned around in surprise.

"Cleo!" both smiled at each other. "What are you doing here?" asked Cleo.

"Just... killing time before tomorrow," Siria answered back in a shy way, Cleo giggled at her timidity.

"You really are shy..." Cleo shrugged, "Oh well, up for a walk through the place?" Siria nodded in answer.

They walked for at least an hour or so, simply sightseeing at the outdoor stores. Siria had apparently loosened up a bit and was a bit less shy now. They talked all the time, laughing a few moments. Cleo spoke up, "You thirsty?".

"Yeah" answered back Siria. Cleo pointed to her left, Siria looked up and spotted the title of Bellossom's Coffee Shop, again. Well, it wasn't all about coffee in there, they just excelled in the area. Both ladies walked in.

The place had an outdoor area with a couple of tables, it had a few inside, and a bar, just like a tavern of sorts. They say in the bar and waited for the one in charge to come. Coincidentally enough, a young female Bellossom (Ever tried to picture a male of these? I can't...) walked to them from behind the bar.

"I'm Lidia and welcome to Bellossom's Coffe Shop. May I take your order?" she asked cordially as both Cleo and Siria ordered. After a few minutes the Bellossom returned with 2 mugs with what both ladies had ordered. They thanked her and the Bellossom moved to attend another customer. Both ladies took a zip. And they continued in silence...

"So... Anyone in your life?" asked Cleo with a wide smile, Siria spitted back the coffee in the mug in shock.

"What?" she asked with a very slight blush in her blue cheeks.

"You heard me, interested in someone or is someone already in your life?".

"I-I... No, not right now. Wh-why do you ask?", Cleo giggled softly.

"Just curious," Siria then looked to her left past Cleo for a moment, in her line of sight was a female Articuno holding a cold mug of cappuccino; she didn't knew whether she had ordered it cold, or she cooled it. She looked young, probably to be in high school, she was wearing formal clothing however; a black-red stripped blouse and a black tight skirt to a little above her knee, her icy blue tail was sparkling and waving to her right. Her wings weren't open, and her hair, in just a lighter shade of the blue of her skin reached to below her neck ending in various spikes, just looking a little frozen.

Few minutes passed and she kept staring, Cleo noticed she hadn't moved so far, she looked at where she was staring. Then back at her. To the spot. At Siria. To the Articuno... "Is something wrong, Siria? You've been staring without blinking at that Articuno," Siria snapped back to reality.

"Aw, no... I was just... uh... Looking at her hair, it looks pretty good," she stammered.

Cleo put up a smug grin, "Well now, her hair is about a foot above where you've been staring," Siria looked simply shocked at her remark and blushed.

"Yeah, I-ah, was looking at the tip of her hair, the reflection of the light on the ice looks... pretty," she stammered as she looked away trying to hide her face from Cleo.

"Oh, heh, sorry," Cleo smiled sheepishly, scratching behind her neck.

"Ah, don't worry."

"So anyway..."

----------

Ark, still in the same bench was simply looking down at the floor, with his eyes fixed in no particular spot. "Excuse me..." Ark's ears ringed with the female voice above him, he quickly snapped back to reality as he looked to his right, a female Cyndaquil stood there, she was wearing a pink long-sleeve shirt with a blue overall/pants, Ark spotted violet/purple sneakers. Her fire-colored hair (red, orange, and all that blending together) reached around the back, she also had bangs to the front, her tail in the same color was only about thirty centimeters long, looking a little fluffy. Her hands and part of the face were a deep-black color and the under-part of her mouth was a brown tone, her eyes were just a pitch darker in the brown color.

"Yes?" asked Ark just a little mesmerized.

"Is this seat taken?" asked the Cyndaquil with a small smile.

"Not at all, please," said Ark as he moved to the side leaving enough space for the Cyndaquil to sit, which she did.

"Mind if I ask what's an Arcanine doing at the park in the middle of the night?" the Cyndaquil gazed at Ark.

"Just thinking... How about you? This isn't exactly the best time for a lady to be walking around in this place," asked Ark as the Cyndaquil giggled softly.

"The same as you, just sorting out my thoughts."

Ark hummed, "Forgot to introduce myself, the name's Ark," he said as he bowed his head just a little.

"I'm Sophia," she said with a smile.

"Now that I think about it, you seem a little familiar to me..." Ark mentioned as he place his right hand over his mouth in a thinking motion.

"Now that you mention it... You live down by Fieram Street by any chance?" Sophia asked as Ark turned to look at her, he moved his hand away.

"Actually yes, in one of the apartments in the complex there!".

"So do I! So I'm guessing we both are going to the Leisram Institute down by Mew's," Ark nodded.

"This is simply too... freaky to say the least," Ark breathed deeply as he laid back, Sophia did the same. They continued talking for a couple of minutes.

----------

"We better get going, it's getting a little late," said Cleo as she looked outside, the sun had already hid and only the streetlights illuminated the area.

"It's this dark already?" said Siria in amazement. Even though both were still at the Cafe, they hadn't ordered anything else and had already paid their bills, both stepped outside the store.

"Where do you live?" asked Cleo.

"Buriel Street," said Siria pointing to the East.

"Tch, that's kinda off my route, I'm by Selkurm Street," Siria snapped her right hand fingers.

"Oh well, guess I'll see you tomorrow at school."

Cleo nodded, "Right. Good night."

"Night," Siria hummed back as both parted in opposite directions.

----------

"It's getting a little late..." said Ark, interrupting Sophia.

"Huh? --- Now that you mention it, it it's getting late," Ark got up and turned to see Sophia.

"Mind if I walk you home?" Ark offered as he extended his right paw/hand to Sophia, which she took and used to get up.

"Not at all, though then again, we live at the same building," she smiled sheepishly. Both started walking through the park as they reached the exit on the south side, which lead to Fieram, after about five minutes of walking they reached the apartment complex they lived at.

Both started going up the stairs, at the 3rd floor Sophia stopped Ark, "This is my floor, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the morning."

Ark nodded, "Unless one of us skips school," he let out a small laugh accompanied by Sophia.

"Good night," she said.

"Good night," Ark replied back as he waved her right paw back at Sophia's left as she entered her apartment. Ark went up the stairs to the 5th floor, where he entered his apartment.

Once inside, he took off his shoes at the entrance. His whole apartment (save for a small area at the entrance) was carpeted. He went to the small kitchenette annexed to the living room and grabbed a small glass of water, he quickly drank it and left it on the sink as he entered his room (the apartments in the complex were of two bedrooms. Ark lived alone however, his family was quite ways off in the city of Ryuwn).

He changed into his Growlithe/Arcanine pajamas as he set up his alarm he jumped into bed as he drew the covers over him and he went to sleep, it was already past 11 PM, or so his clock read, a thought kept running across his head... All across the city of Lerus lights kept going off. At Fieram, Buriel, Selkurm, and Shakhray, where Jaren lived.

* * *

After revising future plans, I remade this chapter to take off some stuff. You'll notice pretty easily which were them. If you had read this before, then you might know already one of the future changes, though I might not make too much out of it. So anyway... 

And do not say anything about the names of the streets... I couldn't think of anything...

Signed as usual,   
Alan "Gray Fox" Quirino - grayfox2510 (at) hotmail (dot) com  
Until next time!


	3. Your Everyday School Community

Pokemon is copyright of Game Freaks and Nintendo, all characters mentioned here are not used with their consent, hence a fanfic.

This story involves the use of Anthro-style Pokemons, or Morphs if you prefer, basically, they are Pokemon turned into humans as par se, they have the characteristics of a person but remain as Pokemons (I can't really find how to explain it). Needless to say, only Pokemons exist in this world, no humans whatsoever...

All characters I make during the process are partly my property, the Pokemon model isn't, but the Anhtros are... Or something like that... (shrugs)  
Some more stuff to say before I get into the chapter. During this story I will introduce loads of characters, they all make some groups (in school life as par se). Though to introduce each group I will make use of spiffy written animations (I know, that sounds lame but heck...), they will be encased in (). (Just try to picture it as some movie that makes a spiffy intro for every character...)

_Life as a Pokemon - Chapter 3 - Your Everyday School Community..._

* * *

Lerus City was quiet as always in the night. The sun was already starting to peek above the mountain ranges of the City. All around the city countless numbers of citizens were about to wake up just to start another slow day of school. 5.59 AM; everything quiet and peaceful... 6.00 AM; sweet dreams end... Next second; a rough start and cursing the hard floor. 

A young Arcanine going by the name of Ark had yet another rough start as he jumped out of bed and landed fiercely in the floor. He cursed under his own breath and turned off the alarm of his clock. He yawned and stretched for a moment before he entered the bathroom in his room and started taking a shower.

In the same building, two floors below, a Cyndaquil, Sophia was somewhat calmer in the mornings, she simply popped open her eyes and turned around in her bed to hit the snooze button, she turned around and drew the covers around her... A few seconds later it hit her, she sighed under the covers as she threw them away and got up as well, she walked a few steps away from her mattress and opened the window's curtains to let the little light come in, she winced at the light however. She was wearing a full, ankle-length nightgown, in a deep gray color. She as well entered the bathroom in her room.

Now a couple of blocks away, at Selkurm Street lived Cleo, a Ninetales. All of her nine tails were outside the covers of the bed and almost touching the floor. When the alarm shot off she yawned without even moving, then opened her eyes and turned it off. She threw the covers away and sat on the edge of her bed. She wasn't exactly the type to use nightgowns, mainly due to her nine tails, so instead she simply opted for a loose white top and a light blue short. She stretched a little and laid back on her bed before she finally got up and left her room for a moment, a few seconds later she returned and entered her bathroom.

Not far from there was Shakhray Street, where Jaren - a Jolteon - lived. His bed was a little... Wrecked to say the least, there were a couple of stitches in the covers, it's not exactly easy to control oneself while sleeping. When the alarm of his clock went off he simply raised his right paw and produced a small zap in his hand, which ended the alarm. He dropped his hand and then sat in his bed before he got up. He was simply wearing a sleeve-less shirt and a pair of pants, both in an orange color of sorts. They were a little ragged too, but he liked them like that (And there wasn't really much he could do). He got up and walked to his bathroom. He shuddered for a second there and entered. He hated water more than school...

Finally, but not least, a couple of blocks away, at Buriel Street lived a Suicune by the name of Siria. Though looking from the above you could only see a giant amount of purple hair (though very well taken care of), above the covers that's it. As the alarm went off she simply used one of her white strip-tails to turn it off as she turned around to look at the ceiling. She then got up but with the covers around her. She walked like that to the bathroom yawning.

----------

Just about 30 minutes later Ark had left his apartment, he went down two sets of stairs and waited in front of Sophia's apartment. Supporting himself on the handrail and looking away. After a couple of minutes he heard the lock of the door go off, he turned around and watched Sophia come out. She was wearing the same uniform that Cleo and Siria had yesterday. Ark also had the same of yesterday.

"Morning," Ark greeted with his right paw up. Sophia took a small skid/jump to her front and smiled at Ark.

"Hello" she said in a sing-song tone.

"Overly happy aren't we?" Ark asked as he started moving towards the stairs, Sophia tagged along to his side.

"Yeah, I'm always like this in the mornings. I don't really know why though..." She smiled sheepishly. Ark laughed a little.

They continued walking for a couple of minutes until they reached Thrain Street, where Ark and Cleo had their little 'incident' the previous day. Once they reached the corner Ark looked to his right and didn't saw Cleo. "I'm waiting for a friend here if you don't mind," Sophia shook her head at Ark's comment.

"Not at all," she said.

After a few minutes Ark spotted Cleo around the other corner, he waved at her. Cleo waved back and sprinted a little, "Morning," Ark said with a smile.

"Morning," replied back Cleo, just as she noticed Sophia, who smiled at her.

"Oh, Sophia, Cleo. Cleo, Sophia," Ark said moving his hand to each of them at the mention of their name. Cleo waved her right paw at Sophia, who did pretty much the same. They started walking again, during the rest of the trip Ark and Sophia told Cleo how they met each other, even though it was kind of simple. Other than that, simple talk.

They finally were down Mew Street, where the Leisram Institute was. Siria and Jaren were already there, talking just besides the main stairs, Sophia followed Ark and Cleo to them. After the presentations they went inside the building. They still had 20 minutes before homeroom started though.

They were simply walking down the aisle before a Pichu ran into Ark, "Hey, watch it!" said the Pichu a little displeased even though she was the one at fault. Like every other female of the school, she was wearing the same uniform, she was about the same height of Cleo. Her body was yellow with black stripes adorning it.

"But you ran into me..." said Ark. (Go into a full white background. The image of the Pichu moves to the middle of the screen with the letters "Dazzler" below her in a yellow black-stripped color. A Persian fades in out of nowhere to her right, supporting herself somewhat against the Pichu, her red gem in the forehead shone as she gave a mean, cold smile. A few claw slashes, just like a cat's appeared above her, the background was shredded to reveal the word "Rio" in the same color of her skin. A big flame exploded to the right of Rio as a Flareon appeared out of the flame. She was giving a gentle smile as her hair, long and loose in the back looked like it was burning, along as the top of her paws; the letters "Fleria" appeared to her side in a small gush of flame. To the left of the Pichu an Espeon appeared out of nowhere, she was simply crossing her hands and looking towards the left, her red gem also shone as her blue eyes twinkled in the light, her ears twitched for a second, "Silvia" appeared below her in a purple color. To her side a small drop of water fell, a Vaporeon suddenly stepped in, her two ears were to the back as well as the fin-thingy on her forehead, her long tail circled around to her front as "Mary" appeared in a bubbly look to her side.)

"You were supposed to move!" Dazzler shot back.

"You can't go around running expecting everyone to move," replied Ark in a calm tone.

"Just leave it like that, Dazzler," said Fleria to her side in a soft voice, placing her right paw on Dazzler's right shoulder. The Pichu simply huffed at them as Fleria sighed theatrically, Rio gave the 5 of them a smug look and moved forward, Fleria trailed and Silvia behind her.

"Sorry for that," said Mary in a calm tone as she rushed to her friends.

"Well that was... odd..." said Jaren.

"You said it," added Sophia from behind. They dismissed the situation and continued walking. The aisle ended in a triple fork, where one of the paths was where they had just come from, the skidded to halt before turning around as they watched a football fly through at high speed, on the other end a Machoke, with a "Nice catch," he grabbed the ball.

(With the image of the Machoke grabbing the ball turn the background into a whitish color with grayed out silhouettes of various Pokemons cheering in the background. Below the Machoke a football flew through in a straight line writing "Shawn" in orange letters. A blur of ice and another of fire appeared to his right, in the resulting nova from the collision a Hitmonchan appeared with a wink. A few punches animations smashed into the background as a few starts from the hits flew by revealing "Kim". To left of Shawn a few swipes appeared in multiple directions, a Hitmonlee then appeared with his right hand to his side and the left one behind his waist, with his right leg a step forward. A strong smash below him cracked the background revealing "Lee". Finally, the scene zoomed away and a large Makuhita fell punching the floor hard, this cracked part of the background to his right revealing "Rand", the whole background suddenly crashed.)

"Jocks are always weird in their own way..." said Siria looking at them as the rest nodded and hummed. They started moving to the opposite direction of the jocks.

"Say Sophia, who's your homeroom teacher?" asked Cleo, Sophia, who was a little past Cleo and to her right turned her head to see her.

"Ms. Kawitz."

"That's odd... I don't remember seeing you there yesterday..." started Cleo, she was about to continue when Sophia interrupted her.

"Oh, that's because I couldn't come yesterday, my flight here from Tolean got delayed the whole weekend, and I got here yesterday in the afternoon, I talked to the principal and he took care of the rest for me."

They had just reached the exit of the main building, the whole campus was comprised of 5 buildings, the one they had just come from, which had all the offices, lockers and whatnot. The other 4 buildings were focused on certain subjects, one of them had most of the homerooms for every class however. Between them was the area where everyone hung out between classes, past the eastern-most building was the gym, fields and all that.

"It's almost time..." said Ark as he looked at his watch, it read 7.29 AM, they had to be at homeroom by 7.35 AM. The first time Ms. Kawitz had given them hell already, a 2nd would be horrible... She was quite cheerful, unless you got on her wrong side...

They quickly went up to the 2nd floor. Each building, excluding the first one, had 4 floors. They walked through the aisle and turned around to get to their classroom. Everyone in the room was up and doing just about anything, some were making weird demonstrations of their abilities, others were simply talking, a few were sitting quietly. The five of the 'group' managed to get seats close to each other. Just as they sat down Ms. Kawitz, an Azumarill, entered the room. Her actual name was Nina Kawitz, but she preferred being called by her last name.

This time however she was now wearing a black long skirt (up to her ankles) and a pink sweater. She was swaying her tail happily. Most classrooms were the same; a nice couple of desks on the back, a blackboard and a podium in front of it. Teachers usually stood there, there was a desk to the side however. Ms. Kawitz simply stood behind the podium and made a polite "Ahem," into her right paw. The classroom quickly noticed her and went to sit in their own desks. Most already knew not to tamper with her unless they wanted to get hurt...

Classes went simply by. First it was homeroom. It was mainly an introduction to all that was going on, and could be used to go over notes or get in time with homework. Over all, it was a 'free' class of sorts, though you couldn't really do anything besides the last options, otherwise Ms. Kawitz would go on you...

Not everyone had the same schedule, while one could go next to Math, others would take Civics or History. Fortunately for Ark, Cleo, Jaren, Siria and Sophia they all had the same schedule. And Civics was next. The classroom was at the 3rd building, which was around 100 meters away from the Homeroom building. They had 10 minutes to get there anyway.

Once inside and a couple of minutes later, a female Dragonite, Tsuki Mariko entered the classroom, wearing a pair of grey pants, a white blouse and a gray jacket over it. She had an easy-going character, but she didn't let any wrong deeds go by past her. She was rather harsh in the disciplinary department, probably since she imparted Civics... The class was your average civics class, good deeds, evil wrong, blah blah blah... It also focuses on using one's abilities according to the situation. Say there's a fire and a water Pokemon is near by it would be common sense for him/her to help.. And all that.

The bell rang and everyone left, in the same building, but up at the 3rd floor was History. The teacher was a female Delcatty, Rose Katt. She wore a white tight skirt to her knees and a light-brown button-blouse. She had also brought in a blue-grayish coat, which was resting on the chair of her desk. One of the most charismatic teachers one could find, the type that can get you absorbed in whatever they were teaching you and you could remember it with easiness. She did had a very soft voice however which could easily sway anyone.

50 minutes later the bell struck again, and everyone hushed around the yards and buildings, the fliers could easily avoid this however. Math was next at the 2nd building though, the teacher resulted to be a Zangoose, Chris Fox, he wore a pair of brown jeans and a white button shirt. He didn't make the class boring at all, more like at a neutral level, he kind of took his job a little seriously however at some points, scolding students for even the simplest of reasons.

Next, Physics/Chemistry, which was back at the 3rd building, on the 2nd floor. The teacher was Athena Lain, a female Celebi, sporting a more radical outfit for a teacher; with a skirt that was as open as the uniform's but about 20 centimeters longer in blue color as well and a baggy-looking red blouse with a cleavage not overly exaggerated. She was good at what she taught, but often got carried away in her own anecdotes or simply getting distracted... Not that the students were bothered about it anyway. A lot of students liked her however, she was one of the sweetest/kindest teachers there was around here.

This was also the best place for your usual geeky group. It was just the 2nd day of classes, but they were already in group projects. Of course we could expect our main five to be together. The activity was to pretty much piece together what they had seen back in junior high. With a sharp "Alright!" coming from behind the group turned around to spot 4 Pokemons with an already finished project. (The scene starts folding in half after half leaving behind a gray background until it covers all the screen. A male Xatu walks quietly from the left of the screen until it's at the middle of the screen, where he looks at the front, with a blink the word "Izzy" appears above him. The scene whirls weirdly with a lot of wave effects before a male Meditite pops-up to the right of the Xatu, leaving a space in the middle, he tilts his head an inch to the side and "Henry" appears below him. A female Mew comes flying from afar, upon reaching the left of the Meditite she dives quickly before going up straight for a second in a series of twirls before she lands quietly with a coyly smile, "Malin" appears to her side. A Kadabra starts walking in from the side of the Mew, once he reaches the middle of the screen he looks to the front, "Jyou" appears in front of him for a second before suddenly everyone extends a paw/hand to the front making the whole background shatter.)

While Physical Education wasn't the most common subject one could see already in high school, this was an exception. Having an Entei as a teacher was a rather nice jump in the cooperation. His name was Gram Shuin, wearing a pair of red shorts with a black sports shirt. He had a very deep gruff voice which would pretty much make you see he wasn't the best teacher to stand up against. Either way, students could lose the average of 1020 minutes simply changing to their sports outfit. The class was imparted at the gym by the way, which was about a minute away walking at normal speed from the 3rd building.

Finally, the last class of the day was a 50 minute period with Tabitha Wilde, a somewhat renowned Roselia in the city of Lerus. She was quite versed in the language area; she had published a few books by the date already. With a rather peculiar way of teaching that was pretty much different for everyone, considering the styles of the other teachers, but what could they do? The natural colors of her body gave her a rather charming look, while her body was mainly a very light-green tone, her right hand was rose while the left one was blue. She wore a pair of gloves in the same color as well, accompanied by a deep green knee-length skirt and a black blouse.

School was finally over and chaos ensued as everyone rushed through the main building either to get to their lockers or simply to escape the pandemonium. All five stood near each other as they made their way out, they went down the front stairs. They were about to start walking away when someone pushed Cleo, who tripped and hit a Sneasel. (Full deep black background. 4 pink looking feathers moved across the scene, one at the top on the left side, and the other three in a straight line going down near the middle. A yellow object shone below the upper feather before the body of a female Sneasel appeared. She had two small sharp knife-like razors on the back of her arms; with a smile the name of "Ayla" appeared in front of her. A couple of stripes glow in the dark, a circle at the top does too and the silhouette of an Umbreon is drawn in the background, his eyes glow red for a second.. The whole body gets a brighter tone and the name "Darke" glows below him. A 2nd set of red eyes glow to the right of the Umbreon, a silhouette is drawn and part of it turns into a lighter gray shade. The body of a Mightyena appears, with long hair almost to his waist in black color. He gives a playful growl as "Roan" appears below him. Finally, a set of teeth close in, and open to reveal a Carvanha standing upright, next to Roan, the front of her body is a rough red and the back is all black. She gives a menacing look before a second set of teeth appear below her, opening up to reveal "Noa". Ayla then jumped in a twirl slashing the right arm upwards and then the left one diagonally to the bottom left while falling as the background crashed.)

"Sorry, someone pushed me from behind," Cleo apologized as Ayla returned a serious look. He huffed at Cleo before she moved away, with the other three trailing behind.

"What's her problem anyway?" asked Cleo to no one in particular with a displeased look.

"You never know with Dark Pokemon," Sophia shrugged. "Trust me, I've had enough experiences with them already."

"I need to go check some things..." said Siria as she bowed and waved goodbye with a coyly smile. She then left the group and headed towards Stale Street, which was north of the school.

"I gotta finish some remodeling of my apartment, so I guess I won't see you the rest of the day," said Jaren as he also waved goodbye and headed towards Shakhray Street.

"Well, I think I'm going home to do my homework; you coming Ark?" asked Sophia, considering they lived in the same building.

"Oh sorry, but I gotta check some things as well, I'm going back home later in the afternoon," Ark answered.

"Alright, see ya," Sophia nodded and left swaying her short tail happily.

"Guess I'm going back home, see you later," said Cleo with a smile as she walked away and rounded a corner. Ark started moving away but turned around and sprung towards where Cleo had gone through.

"Say Cleo..." said Ark as he rounded the corner but was cut abruptly by the scene, "Ark!" yelled Cleo in relief as she saw him past the 4 Dark Pokemon from earlier today.

Ark didn't knew what was going on, but seeing the Sneasel in a fighting stance with her two blades ready was more than enough to make his instincts kick on as he drew his head back a little and then he moved it back forward in a quick motion placing his right paw open by the side of his mouth as he breathed a small fireball of sorts, needless to say this was enough to scare Ayla the Sneasel. The other 3 gave him a harsh look but as they saw Ark growling they decided to retire.

"Cleo, are you alright?!" asked Ark frantically as he rushed to Cleo. She supported herself in the wall behind her with a hand over his chest as she breathed a little exalted.

"Y-yeah, I think so..." she started to compose herself.

"Talk about an unmotivated revenge... I think Sophia was right," said Ark. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

"Thanks," Cleo answered as they started walking away.

After at least 10 minutes they finally reached Selkurm Street. The street was composed of at least 4 different apartment buildings. They all pretty much looked the same from the outside, save for the adornments in the balconies and all that. Cleo led Ark to the building she lived at, once they got up to the 3rd floor Cleo stopped.

"This is where I live," she pointed to a door behind her. There were only 2 apartments per floor, the other one was at the other side, or in front of her if you like.

"Alright, I guess I'll go for now," said Ark as he made a small bow while backing away.

"Wait!" Cleo raised her voice. "You think... They followed us...?" she asked, she might be overreacting, but as Sophia said, '_You never know with Dark Pokemon,'_ Ark shook his head.

"Nope, couldn't see them at all," he answered, Cleo let out a sigh of relief. _I wish I could be completely sure, but I was a little distracted..._

"Alright, thanks for walking me home," Cleo started moving towards the door. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, bye bye" she sing sang as she waved goodbye and entered her home.

Ark looked around nervously and left the building...

* * *

Anyway, I just pretty much wanted to introduce part of the cast that won't exactly be of main roles but with some interaction. As well as a small start into the actual storyline.

Just in case you want to know, the current date of the story is August 16.

Signed as usual,   
Alan "Gray Fox" Quirino - grayfox2510 (at) Hormail (dot) com  
Until next time!

Chapter 4: Dash of Flavor, Elemental Colors.  
(Do not ask what the heck is up with that title...)


	4. Dash of Flavors, Elemental Colors

Pokémon is copyright of Game Freaks and Nintendo, all characters mentioned here are not used with their consent, hence a fanfic.

_Life as a Pokémon - Chapter 4 - Dash of Flavors, Elemental Colors._

* * *

Ark walked through the streets of Lerus, making his way home. He bent though several corners before Rose Plaza came into sight. He was only a few blocks away, and he could feel there was someone trailing him now. He was positive that whoever it was, it didn't followed him to Cleo's place. 

After another corner he stopped in the middle of the street. He glanced sideways to a crystal on the other side and saw the reflection of a Sneasel hiding behind a corner. "Alright, you can come out now," he said turning around. The Sneasel came into sight. "What do you want?"

She readied one of the blades in her forearms. "Payback," she hissed, looming closer to him. Thankfully for both of them, the street was empty.

"For what? You were the one who took on my friend. If anything, you had that small fireball I threw at you well deserved," he said, making the Sneasel snarl.

"Within our type, we take one on one our own problems, without the interference of others."

"You said it, between YOUR," Ark pointed a finger at her, "type. I'm fire, I live by my courage and my own rules."

"Enough, get ready!" Ayla shouted before dashing at full speed before swinging down her arm, creating a wind rift that should Ark not have moved away, it would have caused quite some damage. His shirt was cut in the sleeve, but he remained intact. He took a jump backwards to create some distance between him and the Sneasel.

"I'm sorry, but I don't fight with females, please leave."

"Why? Feel you might lose?" She mocked him as a sly smile spread across her muzzle.

"No, I just don't like it. Moreover," he sighed, "I simply don't like fighting anyway."

"Doesn't matters. Either you do something, or you'll go down!" Ayla shouted as she brought both paws to her front, making a circle with them. She started to create a dark ball out of nowhere. She closed her eyes, and after a second, she snapped them open, throwing the ball at Ark. He brought his paw to his mouth, making a circle with his thumb and index and breathed a volley of fire in the direction of Ayla, taking out the ball.

Ayla snarled to herself. She dashed at him and started to send several swipes of her claws in various directions while Ark simply moved at an amazing speed, avoiding each attack. After a moment, Ayla realized it was futile and moved away, panting a little. "Stay put, damn it!" She mimicked Ark's motion with her paw but instead sent out a ray of ice in his direction. He lit up a flame in his paw, and bounced the beam away to the sky, almost freezing his paw in the motion.

"You have a trick to everything, don't you?" Ayla was becoming more and more furious with each passing second, seeing how nothing she did had any noticeable effect at all.

"I try to, but there are many things I can't fight against though."

Ayla closed her eyes for a second before an icy dust started to gather around her right claw, which was now a fist. She charged forward and hit the air at the same time she gasped for air as Ark spun to his right, or to Ayla's left and slammed his elbow in her chest, but not with too much strength. Ayla backed away, with her left paw over the bruised area. "I thought you didn't liked to fight."

"No, I don't," he retorted casually, "But it seems that's the only way you'll understand."

"Heh," was all she said before creating more icy dust, but this time on both fists before charging again. She sent a fist flying, quickly followed by the other.

Ark ducked under the first one and couldn't move completely out of the way from the second as it got him on the left shoulder, freezing the nearby area. He spun around and made a thrust of his open paw at her back, scorching her clothing a little, and making her jump away.

He stood up and using his right paw, he melted the ice on his shoulder. She looked at him with stern eyes. Then with curious eyes as he started to make a figure with his paws in the air. Her eyes opened up in surprise as she recognized the pattern. It was the symbol of fire, and that coming from a Fire Pokémon could only mean the most destructive of their attacks. "I'll let you go for now, but be careful," she said before taking a step backwards, turned around, and dashed away.

Ark opened his eyes. _Hah, can't believe she fell for it. I can't still get that move right... Most times I just end up scorching myself. _He laughed to himself before starting to walk away. He stopped dead in his tracks, _Wait, maybe she did followed me to Cleo's house... I was somewhat distracted on the way... I better rush to her place just to be sure._

---------- _  
_

Ark rushed back through the route he had taken on his way home. When he reached the complex he wasn't completely surprised to find that Ayla was standing in front of it. She was about to step up the stairs. He threw a small fireball at the handrail of the stairs with took her by surprise.

"Back away," Ark commanded.

"My, you don't desist," she said, turning around.

"Me? What about you?"

Ayla chuckled, "Yes, we are very determined on what we do."

"Even so, back away from the stairs and leave Cleo alone."

"Or else?" She hissed.

"Or else this!" Now he didn't cared, he just wanted to make sure Cleo was safe. He placed his paw by his mouth, again, with the circle and sent a volley of fire in her direction. She easily avoided it however before rushing at him, icy dust gathered on her claws.

Ark did the same, creating a small flame on both paws as they clasped with Ayla's. "Think you can handle the cold?"

"Think YOU can handle the fire?" He retorted as both jumped away at the same time, leaving a pool of water where they previously where.

"This place is more open, it should serve better for a fighting ground."

"Indeed."

Ayla rushed at him, this time without any extras and started to send a swift flurry of blows and kicks. Ark blocked each and one of them, but did nothing to return her attacks. "Come on! Fight back!"

"I told you already, I don't like fighting."

"You sicken me," she lunged forward. Ark took a step back but collided against a wall, he cursed to his own breath as his moving ground was reduced only to his sides. Ayla slammed a fist against the wall and quickly sent her knee up. He was able to avoid both moving to the left, but never saw the swipe that went to his face, leaving 3 scratches on his right cheek.

He grunted as he took a step backwards, placing a paw on the bruised area. Ayla just laughed.

"That does it..." Ark mumbled to himself before getting ready to send another fire blast. Ayla saw his movements and sent out an ice beam of her own. Both collided in mid air and exploded into a curtain of steam, leaving both blind to their surroundings. But not so much for Ark, as he had his nose to move around.

He ran through the steam before a fist of him found its place in Ayla's abdomen, knocking her out cold. "I'm sorry," Ark muttered as Ayla slumped forward, her body going limp. He carried her to a nearby bench on the street around the complex and placed her down. He then walked back, went two sets of stairs upwards and walked right to Cleo's apartment.

He knocked on the door and after that placed a paw on his right cheek. And after a few seconds, Cleo showed up. "Oh, hey again."

"Hey, mind going out for a walk if you aren't too busy?" He offered.

Cleo was taken by surprise. She flushed just lightly under her white fur, but not enough for it to be noticeable. She smiled at him, "But I'm still wearing my uniform," she said.

"So am I."

"True. Oh well, I'll be happy to go with you," she said as she left the frame of the door and locked it behind her before making her way down alongside Ark. "Why the sudden invitation though?"

"Mainly, just because," he smiled. "And secondly, because it seems that someone did follow us, the Sneasel to be precise."

"And..."

Ark tilted his head sideways and brought his paw down, revealing three cuts in his cheek, Cleo gasped. "She did this to you?!"

Ark nodded, "Yeah, two small fights. She ran on the first one and in the second one I had to knock her out," he sighed. Cleo could see that Ark was the peaceful type. They hadn't known for long, but his carefree attitude and softness said so.

"Wait, let's go back to my place. We need to treat that wound," Cleo said, pulling Ark by his left arm back to her place.

Ark reluctantly followed, "But it's a small scratch..." He pseudo-whined.

"Nonsense, it can still get infected." Ark sighed in defeat to her. They hadn't gone far at all, just down the stairs so it didn't took them long to get back to her apartment. She opened the door and to Ark's gesture of his hands, she got in first, followed by him who close the door. "Sit down please, I'll be right back," she said as she left for somewhere Ark didn't knew.

He looked around. The whole place was painted in a light blue, just a shade darker than sky blue. To his right was a small kitchen, just enough to have about the necessary appliances and a table. There was another hallway further right, but he couldn't see it completely well. The rest of the room consisted on a giant living room. In the middle were three couches with a coffee table in the middle. Opposite to the southern couch- and closest to Ark- was a TV on the far wall atop a piece of furniture with several other things, pictures, books, etc. There was a room on each side of that particular piece of furniture.

The Arcanine walked forward and to his right and sat down in one the chairs of the table, waiting for the Ninetales to show up. After a few seconds she appeared from the left room. "Sorry for the wait," she smiled as she walked closer to Ark, placing a small bottle of alcohol on the table.

"Ah, alcohol... The worst enemy of a fire type..." Ark rolled his eyes. In a sense it was true, since that thing burned quite well.

"I thought that was water," Cleo declared casually as she soaked up a side of a cotton ball.

"Yeah, that too," he smirked for a second before he grimaced as the alcohol that was placed in his cut stung him.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad."

"It's been a while since the last time I had to treat a wound," he retorted. "I try to stay out of trouble as much as possible." He grimaced a second time.

"There, all done," Cleo smiled as she tossed the cotton ball in the garbage.

"Thanks. Then," Ark stood up, "Shall we go?"

"Gladly."

----------

Both kept walking through the streets of Lerus making small talk. Ark looked up at the sky and noticed that the clouds were threatening the citizens with rain as he looked at the dark gray color they had.

"Looks like it's going to--" he was cut abruptly as a thunder roared by, seconds before water started to pour down. "And I spoke too fast... My place is close, lets go there and I'll take you back home then."

Cleo nods as they quicken up their pace. Bending a corner, Rose Plaza comes into their sight and several silhouettes are leaving the place, creating several splashing sounds as they run through the water. Both the Ninetales and the Arcanine follow their example as they go into a sprint, before running through the streets, until they finally reach Fieram and start heading up the apartment complex.

Just as they were going up the third floor, Sophia left her apartment and ran into them. She was not wearing a pair of blue baggy jeans, a white shirt and gray sneakers. "Haven't they taught that running under the rain isn't good for you?" She smirked seeing both Pokémons dripping wet.

"Yeah, real funny," Ark laughed. "Rain caught us by surprise and my place was closer. I was just going up there to get an umbrella and walk Cleo back to her place."

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said. "Just look around," she gestured a paw to the handrail and the sight. The rain had gotten so strong in such few moments that you could barely see a meter ahead.

"But where were you going?" Cleo asked as she tried drying her tails.

"Oh, just here. The breeze is lovely if you ask me," she replied with a smile as a wind blew by, making her hair and tail sway softly.

Cleo was finishing drying up her fur: One of the perks of being a fire type, though it wasn't a good idea to try with your clothing. "Well, you are true about that," she said stepping forward to the handrail, but with some distance for the water not to fall on her. Her fur also started to sway softly.

Sophia turned around to look at both. "You are going to catch a cold if you stay on those clothes. Ark, well, your place is here, so you might as well change. I might have something that fits you, Cleo."

Cleo shook her head, "Oh, I don't want to bother you."

Sophia shook her head as well, "It's no problem at all, come on. Ark, why don't you drop by in a few minutes?"

The Arcanine nodded, "Sure, be back in a few." He said before heading up the stairs while Cleo followed Sophia to her apartment.

----------

Ark made his way down the stairs to reach the 3rd floor of the complex. He was now wearing a pair of black jeans and a red shirt. He walked to the door of Sophia's apartment and knocked lightly on it.

"Eh, hold on a minute please!" A shout came from inside, Ark recognized that as Sophia's voice.

"'kay," he said as he rested against the wall next to the door.

"I told you this wasn't going to work... Why do you think we Ninetales have a special brand of clothing? Because of the tails!"

"Hey, I thought it was going to work... Oh wait, silly me, why didn't I thought of this instead..."

Ark frowned for a second. He stood outside for at least two more minutes before the door opened and Sophia showed up.

"Sorry for the wait, we had some... issues," she smirked.

"It's not funny... It takes me hours to just find one single piece of clothing that fits with my nine tails..." Cleo sighed as Ark entered the place. The Ninetales was now wearing a knee-length dark-pink skirt and a white blouse.

"Ever thought about switching to skirts full time?" Sophia asked as she closed the door.

"You try going around with a skirt with these tails, it's not easy, trust me," she said.

"Trust her," Ark added from the side with a smirk as Cleo looked at him with stern eyes.

"Lets not start this again," she said.

"I told you it was a honest accident!" Both stayed in silence for a few moments before laughing out lightly.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something...?" Sophia asked as she walked forward and sat in a couch in the living room. The place was pretty much a copy of Ark's apartment, but flipped horizontally.

Ark followed her and sat on another couch, with Cleo in the one in front of him. "Oh, just how we meet. We both were going late for school the first day and bumped into each other..."

"...I fell to the floor and I told you how skirts aren't my best friends, and well..."

"Long story short, here we are," Ark finished.

"Hmm, right..." Sophia frowned.

The rest of the day for them went rather simple. The rain didn't seemed to ease up at all, and it still rained as hard as when it had started, and it was getting somewhat late already.

Cleo got up and walked to the window in the right side of the room. "At this rate I won't be able to head back," she sighed.

Sophia looked at the clock that was above the TV in the wall directly in front of her. It read 9.07 PM. "Well, it's not overly late yet, but if you can't head back at all you can stay in here," she offered.

Cleo turned around in surprise, "It was good enough from your part to let me borrow some of your clothes, but I would just be pushing the line," she waved her paw as if saying no.

"Cleo, you really want to walk back in that weather?" Ark asked, "I don't think even holding an umbrella would be a good idea with so many lightning."

The Ninetales turned around to look outside, or what was barely visible. If you extended your paw while being outside, you would barely see your fingers. "You do have a point, but..."

"Then it's settled," Sophia decided for her. It's not like she had any other choice. "Though there's one detail..." She flushed slightly.

"Thanks," Cleo walked back to the place where she was sitting and looked at the Cyndaquil but dismissed her barely noticeable blush. They just continued to kill time.

"Say Ark," Sophia said, making the Arcanine look at her, "You did Math homework already?"

This made his face go into a shocked expression at the same time Cleo gasped. "Damn, I had forgotten about it, what with that Sneasel chasing me..."

"Sneasel? You mean the one from school?" Sophia frowned at him.

"Yup, two fights. She left me a small gift," he said tilting his head to reveal the 3 scars. Barely noticeable by now actually, since they blended with his fur color.

"I told you about them," she sighed. "They are very determined in what they do."

"No kidding," he shook his head. "Nonetheless, I better head to my own place. I haven't even started Math yet," he said as he got up.

"Oh, it wasn't that hard. Took me about ten minutes to finish."

Ark took his seat again, "Hmm, I guess I'll do it at homeroom tomorrow then."

"Likewise," Cleo heaved a sigh, "It's not like I can get my things anyway since I left them at my locker."

"Heh, now that you mention it, I did the same," Ark sheepishly smiled, scratching the back of his neck. They kept talking for some more time before the clock hit 10.28 PM.

Ark got up from his seat, "Well, I guess I'll leave you two for now. Besides, I'm kind of a light sleeper, so I get drowsy early," he smirked.

Sophia got up as well and walked him to the door, "Alright. It was nice talking all day long. See you tomorrow morning," she said as Ark was leaving the door frame.

"Bye bye," Cleo said, waving her paw at him.

"See you two tomorrow," Ark said waving goodbye before leaving the apartment. The rain was as heavy as before. If it weren't for the lights on the stairs, he wouldn't be able to see well at all. He took a few steps to the right and started to up the stairs. Two floors above, he made a right turn and after unlocking his door, he entered his room, getting ready for another night.

----------

"It's going to be a long night..." Cleo sighed as she got up from her seat.

"What makes you say so?"

"Well, I don't have any clothes to sleep on, I don't have a problem with this outfit at all, but I don't think it's the best to sleep in."

"Sorry," Sophia said as she picked up a glass from one of the cabinets in the kitchen, "But that I can't help with. All I have are ankle-length night gowns and seeing how much you like skirts, I doubt you'll find them comfortable." She brought a carton of milk from the fridge and poured herself a glass. "You want anything before going to sleep?" She offered.

"Hmm, just a glass of water," she said as Sophia pointed to the cabinet with the glasses. The Ninetales stepped forward to grab one and poured herself some tap water. "Don't worry about it though. I don't want to impose anymore on you anyway. It's nice enough from you to let me stay here," she gulped the last of her glass and poured some more water, she vaulted it a little and poured it on the sink, then placed the glass to dry.

"Hey, I can't let you go out in that weather," she gestured at the window as she gulped the last of her glass. She got up and placed back the carton on the fridge. She then filled up the glass with water and left it in the sink.

"Erm, remember the detail I spoke about earlier?"

"Yeah," Cleo nodded, "What was it anyway?"

"Well, I don't know how to say this, but," she blushed. Cleo frowned at her, "Well, the only bed in the place is mine, and..."

Cleo blinked a few times, she shrugged. "So? I'll just take a couch."

Sophia looked up at her, slightly more relieved by now, "You sure about that? It's queen size so there's enough space in reality."

"Hey, what did I said about pushing the line? I don't want to be anymore of a burden."

Sophia shrugged, "Ok, but don't come complaining to me when your back is all screwed up in the morning."

"I just need something to cover with and I'm more than fine," Cleo said with a smile.

"Right, hold on," Sophia walked past her and took a right turn after leaving the kitchen. She opened a door there and standing on her tiptoes, she pulled out a white blanket from the room. She walked back and handed it to Cleo, "There you go."

"Alright, thanks."

"Sure thing. Good night," Sophia started to walk towards her room. She slightly closed her door. Cleo simply sat on the couch she was previously sitting on. She laid there taking a few relaxed breaths before Sophia came out in an ankle-length, cyan colored this time.

"Well, if you need something in the night... Hope you can find it," she smirked. "If not, well, wake me up I guess," she shrugged.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. See you tomorrow," Cleo said as she tried to lay down in the couch, extending the blanket over her. Sophia left the door open as she entered her room.

----------

Night came and went, just like every other day. Throughout Lerus city several lights were starting to go on as many had to wake up, be it for school, work, or any other reason. Others were just barely waking up.

Ark, as usual, had ended up on the floor yet once again. "Must... Never mind..." he mumbled as he reluctantly got up, turned off his alarm and entered the bathroom.

Way off in Shakhray a Jolteon was sleeping quite peacefully. The next thing he knew, was that his spikes were in battle position, piercing part of his clothing, the mattress, and the blanket as the alarm shot up. He had been listening to some music the previous night at quite a high volume and forgot to tone it down a notch. "Aww, damn it..." He said as he made his spikes relax. He sighed heavily before standing up, turning off the alarm and lower the volume. He then reluctantly entered the bathroom.

Not far from there was Buriel Street. Siria, the shy Suicune had her hair sprayed all over bed. Covering almost half of the whole mattress. The alarm went off and she did so much as just move one of her tails to hit the button of the alarm. Her sigh was stifled by the mass of hair as she drew the covers around her, sat on the edge of the bed and then walked to the bathroom.

Now, back in Fieram Street and two floors below Ark's apartment it was a whole different story. The alarm in Sophia's room went off. She moved a paw in random directions trying to find her drawer and the alarm. When she succeeded she groaned, "Five more minutes..." She said to no one in particular as she turned around in bed and found her nose buried in white colored fur.

"Wha?!" She said as she jumped out of bed in a quick motion, almost tripping down. "Cleo! What are you doing here?!" She asked in surprise.

The Ninetales stirred in her place, "You were right about the couch. Not only three hours into the night and my back was killing me," she yawned.

"You could have woken me up to say you were going to crash in my bed at least," she started to recover from the shock as Cleo sat in the edge of the bed.

"Sorry, but I didn't wanted to wake you up."

"Oh well, don't worry about it anyway. Your uniform should be dry by now, there's another bathroom near the closet," Sophia said as she opened the curtains of her room, letting the light go in, which wasn't much as the sky was totally cloudy. Cleo flinched slightly.

"Ok, thanks," she stood up and yawned, stretching a little.

Sophia shrugged before she entered the bathroom in her room. Cleo left the room and entered the other bathroom.

----------

A few minutes later, Ark was going down the steps of the complex. He walked to Sophia's apartment and supported himself on the handrail, looking away at the city. The rain had cleared up considerably through the night. The pavement was still wet and there were several puddles here and there, but it wasn't raining anymore, though the clouds could feel so otherwise at any moment as they were still very gray.

The wind breeze was just wonderful however. Ark's shoulder-length hair swayed softly as the wind blew by, refreshing, and actually waking him up. After a few minutes of enjoying the breeze, he heard the lock on the door behind him go off.

"Come on, we are going to be-- Oh, hi Ark," Sophia greeted as she left her apartment, waiting for Cleo to come.

Ark turned around and smiled, "Morning."

"Now who's overly happy?" Sophia teased with her paws on her hip looking at him.

"Heh, I guess this breeze has some side effects on one," he said before turning around again, letting the breeze hit the front of his head.

"Sorry for that, some things happened," said Cleo as she left the apartment. "Oh, morning Ark," she greeted.

The Arcanine took a deep breath of the air before turning around and smiling at her, "Morning," he said for the second time. Sophia closed the door and locked it. "Come on, we better get going," he said as the trio started to walk down the stairs, away from the building, and towards Mew Street.

After a few minutes of walking the Institute came into sight. And just as the previous day, Jaren and Siria were already by the entrance talking.

"Morning," the all said almost in unison before entering the main building.

"So, had an interesting day?" Jaren asked as they left the building for the general plaza.

"Quite," Ark responded with a hint of sarcasm as he tilted his sideways, revealing the three cuts, which were even less noticeable by now.

"Love problems, eh?" Jaren smirked, making the rest laugh.

"I wish," Ark laughed as well. "That Sneasel from yesterday was tailing me. In the end she started to attack me," he said.

"What happened?" Siria asked. Though she could be shy from time to time, she often was pretty direct (Author's Note: I still say that having a hair that long, in that color, and such condition would be the envy of the rest...).

"Ah, long story short, we ended up fighting because I supposedly got in their way after the incident she and Cleo had yesterday... Oh yeah, you two don't know, but after you all left, I was going to ask Cleo something but when I found her those 4 Dark Pokémons were in front of her and the Sneasel looked like wanting a fight..." He took in a moment to take some air as the five of them sat in a bench. They still had 15 more minutes before having to go to homeroom. "After that I decided to walk Cleo to her home and after I left and heading back to my own place, I found out that Ayla," and to the query eyes of the rest, he added, "The Sneasel," which made them mouth an 'Oh'. "Well, the first fight was uneventful, she ran away at the end."

"Eh, first fight?" Jaren asked, placing emphasis on 'first'.

"Yeah, I decided to go back to Cleo's place just in case and I found her there as well. I never liked fighting, but I had no other choice at that moment and I knocked her out," he sighed. Yes, he really hated fighting.

"Hmm, tough luck," Jaren said.

"At least nothing worse happened," Siria added.

"Still," Sophia spoke, "I don't think she has given up quite yet."

"Likewise," Ark nodded. "But enough about that, what about your day you two?" He asked looking at the Suicune and the Jolteon.

"Well," Siria spoke in a soft, almost melodic tone, "After the rain settled in I didn't felt like going out, so I just stayed in reading a book."

"Really? What's the name?" Cleo asked.

"The Fox and the Vixen," she answered, "I just started it yesterday actually."

"Hmm," Cleo nodded, "Well, seems we only have about ten minutes to get to homeroom," she said looking at the digital clock in the walls of the main building. "We better get going," she got up from her seat just like everyone else before they started to walk.

----------

Homeroom was rather uneventful. Both Ark and Cleo used the time to do their Math homework which indeed, only took them about 10 minutes in reality. Their schedule was slightly different this day, as they didn't had Civics this day at all, but in it's place they had a class called Art History, which to many seemed mostly like a 'filler' class, but it was imparted in hopes to give the students a more profound vision of pretty much everything. They still had to run to the first class building up to the third floor though.

The teacher was a Smeargle. His name was Ledah Ecthel, which was a rather unusual name around this part. He was wearing a pair of ocean blue pants, looking more like formal wear and a button shirt in sky blue. All topped off by the strange beret all Smeargles had . All in all, the class wasn't boring, yet it wasn't a blast for that matter. It was more around the middle point, and so it went rather uneventful.

Then, like the previous day as well, History was next, in the same place as yesterday, making them trek through the campus. Rose Katt, charismatic as ever had every student charmed under her voice, listening to every word she said. Many teachers wished to have such natural skill to teach, but alas.

In a swift movement of schedule, Language was next with Tabitha Wilde, the Roselia. As usual, doing rather different activities was the way for her to teach classes, and the method proved successful through previous generations. You just needed time to get used to it.

Science was next with the young Celebi, Athena Lain. She was a nice teacher all in all, but what many liked the most is how carried away she could get with some stories or what not, often losing a lot of class time. The class on this day was taking place on one of the laboratories found in the fourth building, and while some preferred to go on with what they had to do, others just listened to her.

"Hey, watch," a Kadabra on the back row whispered to another three Pokémons as he extended one of his arms and lifted a finger in the direction of Jaren, who was currently giving the physic Pokémon his back. Due to layout of the tables, which were made to actually sit groups of 4 or 5, whereas the teacher often stood in the middle of the room, one would often had to give its back to the table, such was the case of now. The Kadabra started to lift a pen that was behind Jaren but before the Jolteon's paw appeared out of nowhere and snatched the object in mid air.

He gave the Kadabra a stern look and muttered something at him, which shocked the Kadabra. Jaren turned his eyes back to the teacher but quickly looked back at the Kadabra with yet another stern look. _ And stay out of my mind as well, _he thought, adding another word at the end before the Kadraba huffed at him. "Physics..." Jaren muttered under his own breath.

They didn't had gym class today at all, and even if the would, they probably wouldn't have been able to since it was raining weakly and the gym was already occupied. They instead spent the hour in the cafeteria of the school, taking an opportunity to eat something and just talk before it was Math time. Which was just like the previous days. Chris was an ok teacher, but just as Ms. Kawitz, the Azumarril, only if you don't get on his bad side.

After that, the day of classes was pretty much done.

----------

Rain had subsided for now, and since none of the 5 had anything worthwhile to do, they just stayed in the plaza, sitting in one of the various benches. At one point Ark got up for a moment, "Ah, hold on a minute, I think I left something back at Math," he said as he rushed back to the second building.

Not long after had left however, Jaren noticed a Carvanha in the distance looking at them. He paid no mind to her for now, that is, until it started to get closer to them. She was standing virtually behind Cleo, but quite a few meters away before she tilted her head backwards.

Jaren noticed the movement and knew what was going to happen next. "Cleo, get down!" He yelled as he moved it an amazing speed, standing between the Carvanha and Cleo as the metallic pseudo-fish shot a giant projectile of water from her mouth. Cleo, slightly surprised, just saw as Jaren took the blast heads on. I didn't do much to him, but the strength was good enough to knock the wind out of him.

"Well, the Sneasel is down, now comes the Carvanha," he smirked as he recovered from the blow. "This should be easy. Get back please," he said as the three girls behind him took a few steps backwards, knowing what was coming next. As Jaren lifted a paw and several sparks started to fly out of it, Siria stepped forward.

"Wait! You'll get in trouble if you fight here!"

"I know but," he stopped for a second as a lightning crossed the sky, not long before water started to pour down again. He cursed softly, "Damn..." He sighed before lowering the sparks from his paw for a moment, "I'm only defending my friends, I have no reason to get in trouble," he spoke, lifting his paw once again.

"Fool!" Sophia said, taking out an umbrella from her bag, "If you fight here you'll end up hurt as well!"

"It's a small price to pay, don't worry," Jaren retorted as he snapped his fingers, creating a rift of electricity from his paw to in front of the Carvanha, which made a jump backwards. She lost no time as she dashed forward, not overly rapid, but more than to cover the distance in matter of seconds.

She lunged forward with a bite which found only water as Jolteon moved aside quickly and delivered a swift double kick at her before taking a few leaps backwards to create some distance. After recovering from the slight flinch, the Carvanha closed her eyes for the second before she darted forward at Jaren at a higher speed than before. Jaren mimicked her actions and moved even faster as well, avoiding a tackle from the metallic pseudo-fish.

The Jolteon placed his paws on her shoulders and with the sound of the rain, he whispered into her ear, "You know I have no issues with sending an electric discharge here, do you? The damage I suffer will be nothing compared to yours," as he finished that, he had to leap backwards as she tried to trust her elbow on his chest.

"Oh yeah, I'd like to see you try!" She scram back.

Jaren shrugged, lowering his head and sight for a second, knowing that the Carvanha would certainly try another move at that. And he was correct. But it wasn't what he had planned actually, as she sent another blast of water at him, but he didn't even move at all, taking the impact heads on.

The Carvanha smiled at the sight, but she soon frowned when she saw nothing in the place where the Jolteon had been, nothing save for a curtain of smoke. She cursed under her breath as she felt his paws latch on her shoulders again and his head just besides her.

"But an open discharge wouldn't be good, so I'll do this instead," he said with a sly smile as he licked her on the neck at the same time he focused his energy on his tongue, creating a rather strong discharge in the middle of the plaza which surprised everyone in the vicinity as sparks flew everywhere.

A stifled scream surrounded the area before the sparks subsided and both bodies fell to the floor. The last thing the Jolteon heard was a loud "Jaren!" from what he thought was the Suicune.

----------

Jaren opened his eyes, if only so barely. His body felt a little disoriented. He might be an electric type, and so he can take several discharges, but not when coupled up with water. He groaned as he got up, trying to figure out where he was. He blinked a few times to recover his sight.

"Glad to see you are up," a female, almost melodic voice sounded in his ears before he could actually associate it to anyone he knew. He looked to his left and saw Siria sitting on a chair besides the bed he was resting on.

"Ugh, Siria, where am I?" He pressed a paw to his temple trying to recover his focus.

"The infirmary," she closed the book she had in her hands. "We had to carry you after the fight with the Carvanha, the nurse says you should be alright since you are an electric type, but you better not push your luck next time..."

"Why I do I feel that isn't all?"

"The Principal also wanted to speak with both you and the Carvanha later on," she said.

"Thought as much," he let himself fall down on the bed. He blinked a few times again in confusion before standing upright in bed again, "But, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I decided to stay behind," she smiled at him. "In case you wonder about what happened to the Carvanha, well, she is on the room besides us."

Jaren nodded, "Right, what time is it anyway?"

"Hmm, last time I checked, it was four twenty-three," she said.

The electric Pokémon heaved a sigh, "Good thing I had nothing to do today." He started to get up, with some help from Siria in case his disorientation was still present. At that time, a female Blissey entered the room. She was, well, contrary to a normal Blissey, she was rather slim, and had the typical nurse uniform. The white blouse had an egg painted by the middle.

"Oh," she spoke looking at the standing Jolteon, "Glad to see you are good now." She took a few steps closer to the Jolteon, "Feeling anything strange at all?"

Jaren shook his head, which only served to daze him a little more than what he was, "Just a little dizzy, but it'll clear in a few moments I guess. It usually happens from a strong electric charge," he said.

"Right," the Blissey said. "The principal, Mr. White would like to have a word with you two once the other Pokémon recovers," she announced before leaving the room.

"You might want to consider..." Siria paused with a hmm, trying to pick the correct word, "Invest in a new shirt for your uniform by the way."

"Eh? Wha?" Jaren asked confused and turned his head around, trying to get a look of his back, only to find that his shirt had been ripped open in several places due to his spikes. "Aww, man..." He groaned, making Siria giggle.

The Blissey entered the room again, "Just to let you know, the other Pokémon is up, so you should head with the Principal," she smiled cordially before closing the door again.

"Oh well..." The electric dog sighed, "See you later?" He hinted.

"Mind if I walk with you to the office?" She offered.

A smile spread across his muzzle, "Not at all," he answered as he grabbed his backpack resting besides the bed before they both left the room and headed back to the main building of the campus. The trek itself took only slightly more than a minute, but waiting for Mr. White to be able to receive them, not to mention, for the Carvanha to get there took about five minutes.

Noa (Yes, the Carvanha) simply looked to a side, avoiding eye contact with the Jolteon as they sat outside the Principal's office. Not that Jaren minded though, as he was more distracted talking with Siria than with his former opponent. The door suddenly, and mysteriously opened, as no one was there to turn the knob of the door.

A voice loomed in the hallway, "Please come," it spoke in a neutral tone. Not too creepy, but not too comforting either.

"Good luck. I'll be waiting here," Siria smiled, just as the Jolteon did in return, leaving his backpack in the chair before entering the office with the Carvanha.

As soon as they had stepped in, the door closed. There was no light, and the room had been previously illuminated only by the light of the hallway. "Ah, my apologies," the voice loomed around again as the lights suddenly turned on, revealing a Mewtwo clad in a brown suit sitting behind a desk. It hit Jaren at that moment why the sound of the voice was slightly distorted. He wasn't speaking, as the voice he heard was actually echoing in his mind, not to mention the irony of his last name... He did found the sound slightly... Creepy to say the least.

_Please seat, _the voice resounded as the two chairs in front of the desk spun around, waiting for the two to sit on them...

----------

A few minutes later, both Pokémons left the room. The Jolteon was still in a neutral mood, if only slightly hinting to a happier side, contrary to the Carvanha, which looked rather upset. She just stomped out of the place paying no mind to the Suicune at all.

"How did it go?" Siria asked as Jaren grabbed his backpack, prior to the pair starting to leave the building.

"Good, in a manner of speech," Jaren answered. "I guess that the principal being a Physic can be for good and for bad, depending on your position."

"I would suppose, but what do you mean?"

"Well, since he could easily detect if we were really speaking the truth, and since I was only defending Cleo, things went well for me in the end," he smirked. "I have nothing to worry about, though I can't say as much for Noa."

"Noa...?" Siria hummed, "Oh," she snapped her fingers, "The Carvanha. What about her?"

"Not sure," Jaren shrugged as they left the whole campus. "Whatever he said to her, he did so through her mind, so I couldn't even hope to listen," he skidded to a halt after reaching the bottom of the stairs.

"Say, have you eaten at all since school ended?"

The Suicune shook her head, making her hair sway softly, "Not really, and now that you mention, I do feel slightly famished," she replied with a coy smile, scratching the back of her neck nervously.

"Come on, let's go somewhere," he said with a smile. "My treat," he added, "The least I can do in return for you staying behind."

Siria blushed, and quite noticeably in contrast to the white fur of her cheeks. "Th-thanks," she whispered as they started walking away.

----------

And so, another day passed by...

* * *

Well, I had this project down for a while... I already had chapters 1 through 3 done for a while, but I had dropped the project. But recent 'nagging' (read: moral support) from a couple of friends kind of helped me revive this story. It was quite fun to write this chapter.

So, down to the final words, hope you like this story. Any typos or things seriously odd (like how I oddly called a Ninetales as Ninetails back in chapter 1... Though it's been corrected now), then please let me know. Constructive (read people, read: constructive) criticism is always accepted, you know we writers always want to get better at this. If by any reason you feel compelled to flame this, then do so at my mail please. So yeah...

Until next time!

Signed as usual,   
Alan "Gray Fox" Quirino - grayfox2510 (at) hotmail (dot) com  
Until next time!

Wait for next chapter for an actual title.


End file.
